Real-time conscious postural control is not affected when balancing on compliant surface by young adults

Previous research has illustrated that real-time conscious postural control (i.e., reinvestment - shifting from movement automaticity to a more consciously controlled and monitoring of movement) increased with standing task difficulties among healthy older adults. However, such association has not been investigated in the younger population. This study attempted to examine real-time conscious postural control among healthy young adults when performing different standing tasks on a compliant (foam) surface. T3-Fz EEG (electroencephalography) coherence, indicative of real-time conscious postural control, was recorded during the standing tasks (i.e., wide base on foam (WBF), narrow base on foam (NBF) and tandem stance on foam (TAF)). Body sway was also recorded by a motion capture system. Participants’ perceived difficulty on the different standing tasks was evaluated by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Results revealed that while body sway and perceived difficulty increased significantly with task difficulties, T3-Fz EEG coherence did not differ among standing tasks. In addition, no differences of any measures were found between young adults with high and low trait reinvestment propensity. Our findings indicate that young adults do not pose higher real-time conscious postural control when task difficulty increases. We also add support to the existing literature; the between-group effect of trait reinvestment appears to be minimal in real-time.